In a brand-new twist between Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and AAP’s state government, Purohit has reserved three Bills passed by the Vidhan Sabha earlier this year for the President’s consideration.
First passed in the June Assembly session, these Bills were the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill 2023, the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill 2023, and the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023.
According to the word from Goveerner’s House, the bills have been reserved as stated by Article 2000 of the Constitution, which “outlines the process for a Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly of a state to be presented to the Governor for assent, who can either assent, withhold assent or reserve the Bill for consideration by the President.”
The article states, “when a Bill is reserved by a Governor for the consideration of the President, the latter shall declare either that he assents to the Bill or that he withholds assent therefrom.”
The Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill looks to provide a free-to-air telecast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple, Amritsar. It was passed as an amendment to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1925; the Bill wanted to check the monopoly.
The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill 2023 is a full amendment to the Punjab Police Act, 2007, and aims to provide an independent selection process for the appointment of the DGP. The Bill requires the state government to appoint a DGP from a panel of three senior officials eligible based on the length of service, experience, and work record.
The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aims to put the Chief Minister in the role of Chancellor of state universities instead of the current provision of the Governor being the Chancellor. There were multiple differences between CM Bhagwant Mann and the Governor over the appointment of VCs of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
